A Day with Daddy, and Other Short Stories
by blackbeltchic
Summary: SEQUEL TO STOLEN INNOCENCE: After things have settled down in the Summer household, time goes on. This is a bunch of short stories that continue the story started in Stolen Innocence, at reader's request.
1. A Day With Daddy

A Day with Daddy

Posted: May 9, 2004

Disclaimer: The only character that really belongs to me is Ashleigh Summers. The plot, I guess, you could say belongs to me, but none of this would be possible without the brilliance of Joss Whedon, and the brilliance of GidgetGirl. It was her Legal Challenge that started all this. I'm just giving in to demand.

Author's notes: This is for Gigil13, who asked for this in a review. This is a short story using the characters from Stolen Innocence. You could say it's a sequel, but it's more of a continuation. I hope all of you who enjoyed Stolen Innocence, enjoys this!!!

Spoilers: No spoilers for the shows, BUT THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, STOLEN INNOCENCE. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW HOW THAT STORY ENDS, do not read. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I DON'T WANT ANY NASTY REVIEWS!!!

"Mommy! Come play with me!" The blond haired girl came bouncing in the room at eight am. The sun had risen at five, and she had been up pretty much since then. She couldn't remember when Ashleigh had started calling her mom, but she sorta liked the idea, though she wasn't always comfortable with it, like when Alicia came over, Ashleigh's real mother.

She moaned, trying to roll over, so she could get up.

"Hey, I've got her," he said, sitting up, kissing her softly. She smiled as his lips touched hers. She couldn't believe that all this was actually real, even after so much time had passed. "Mommy's tired," he whispered to the girl, taking her from the room, after pulling on a pair of black jeans, and grabbing a white shirt. He shut the door quietly, and she rolled back over, since she had a very hard time getting comfortable these days, and soon fell back asleep.

"Mommy needs a day off. Why don't we do something together?"

"Just you and me?" She asked, "No interruptions?"

"Of course. What do you want to do?"

"Aren't they pretty?" she asked, staring at the white bears. "They're so....white and innocent. Blank slate."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. After all those years of torturing people, and then torturing himself, a blank slate was something to relish. From what they had garnered from her own past, where guilt was something preyed upon, she also needed that blank slate.

"Yes, they are. Are we going to look at the...pretty bears all day, or do you want to do something else?" He asked.

"Could we go to the beach? We haven't gone to the beach in a long time! Not since Mommy started getting big."

"Sure."

"Yippee!" she jumped for joy, and some of the nearby people turned to look at her. Angel just smiled a lit bit embarrassed.

"Baby, we need to wrap it up, ok?" he said, hanging up his cell phone. She looked up from where she was burying his legs.

"Why?" she whined.

"Because something came up at Daddy's work."

"But you promised!"

He thought a moment, "Do you want to come with me? I bet Harmony or Spike would play with you."

"But I want you to play with me!"

"We'll see, girly. Maybe once Daddy's done, we could go out for dinner, or ice cream. How does that sound?"

She thought about it for a minute or two, her six year old face creased in a pondering look. "Could I paint your nails?" He sighed. "Pretty please?! We can do black, or white, or...clear. Please?"

He sighed again, knowing he couldn't come up with something fast enough to make her forget about this. "Fine." she jumped for joy, and he sent her running to the water, to wash off. He sighed as he wiped the sand off of his shorts. He was never going to live this down.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, as the clients sat down. Now that Wolfram and Hart had been cleansed of its demons, he was truly trying to clean up the law firm's act. Though they still had to deal with some of the larger demons, to keep them on their feet.

The demon said something, but it was just a bunch of clicking. "It seems they've come across a prophecy, while going through their archives. Has to do with a slayer and a vampire..." some more clicking, and some clucking, and Wesley clucked and clicked back at them, "A vampire with a soul, merging, becoming one, bringing about the apocalypse. Or a Big evil, my language skills are a bit rusty."

"Merging? How?"

More clicking and clucking, from both the demons and the British man. "They're not totally sure. They would have brought the prophecy along, but their ruler forbid it. But they knew of your relationship with the slayer, and came to prevent...whatever's going to happen."

Angel shifted nervously, "But I'm no longer a-"

"Daddy, stop moving!" the voice came from under the table, and the demons looked under the table. Angel clapped a hand to his forehead. The demons were going to have lots of questions about this.

"Buffy need a day off?" Wesley asked, sympathetically. He had babysat for Ashleigh while they had gone on their honeymoon. Angel just nodded, shifting in his chair.

"Daddy! Stop it!" he felt something cold land on his foot. "Now look at what you've made me do!" He felt her fingers trying to wipe the nail polish off his foot. She peeked out from under the table, "You're lucky I don't have to start over!" Ever since Harmony had babysat one night, after hesitation from both Buffy and he, Ashleigh had been obsessed with nail polish. Buffy had assured him that it was a girl thing, and that no matter her sheltered beginnings, she needed to be exposed to girly things, like dresses, and tea parties, and friends. And, sadly, nail polish and other make up items. He shivered at the thought of Ashleigh with one of Buffy's lipsticks.  
The demons started clicking and clucking like mad, sending strange and disgusted looks Angel's way.

"Will you please explain to them!"

"Uh..." Wesley began clicking and clucking like mad, but it didn't seem to help. "Opps." He continued clicking.

"What?!"

"I...uh...seem to have mixed up my tenses. And a few verbs."

"Wesley..." He growled.

"I'm trying!" They were all clicking and clucking furiously, the conversation seeming more and more heated. Angel punched a button on his phone.

"Gunn, we need some help here." He let his old friend listen for a few minutes, and then clicking came from the phone. Everyone stopped to listen. After a minute, the demons nodded, and clucked some more.

"There ya go, Boss. Should I come over there, just to keep things under control?"

"No, just stay where we can reach you, ok?"

"Sure thing." The line went dead.

"Daddy, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Oh, it's ok, baby," he pulled her up into his lap. She looked up at his with tears in her eyes. "It's not your fault. They don't speak English, and...there was a misunderstanding." he hugged her.

"So I'm not in trouble?"

"Of course not." Even though he wanted to ground her, or punish her in some way. She was just to... she had been through so much in her short life...he just couldn't punish her. "What color were you painting my nails?"

This brightened her right up, "Pink! Harmony let me borrow it!" she smiled, and he smiled back, but it was clearly forced, and a bit hesitant. Thank God Spike wasn't coming in today. It was bad enough as it is. "Uh...why don't you go see if Harmony wants you to paint her nails?"

"Ok!" she scrambled under the table, grabbed the polish bottle, and rushed out of the office.

Angel sighed, before turning back to his clients. "Wes, if I have this right, then they're talking about Buffy's junior year." Wesley nodded, thoughtful, "Would you please tell them that it is all taken care of, and it is no longer a threat." Wesley nodded, and started clicking and clucking his tongue, stopping every few minutes to think about the next verb conjugation and whatnot. Angel didn't understand some demon languages. There wasn't any difference between one click and another to him, though he knew that there must be something.

"Can I have ice cream now?"

"What about dinner? Don't you want....a hot dog, or a cheese burger? Or what about Tacos?"

She shook her head. "Ice cream!" she demanded.

"Well, a sundae comes with a hot dog or cheeseburger, or even taco meal." The friendly waitress said, and Angel guessed that she either had kids of her own, or dealt with them on a regular basis.

"Could I eat the sundae first?" she asked, tipping her head to one side.

"Uh...sure, whatever your daddy says."

"Ok! Then could I have..." she looked at the menu she couldn't yet read, "Tacos!"  
The waitress smiled, "And what would you like, Sir?"

"Uh..." he had been so occupied with getting her to get a meal, he hadn't looked for anything for himself.

"Ok, lets sit out here, and finish our ice cream cones." he sat her up on the front steps. She nodded, almost asleep, licking her ice cream slowly, letting it drip all over her white shorts and light pink t-shirt. Of course it was chocolate ice cream. "Want me to finish that for you, girly?" he asked, as they sat out in the balmy night. She shook her head. Five minutes later, she held out the cone to him. There wasn't too much ice cream left, but he ate the cone, and made a big deal out of licking his fingers, and then hers, and her arms, getting her laughing.

She lifted her arms out to him, like she had when she was four, and he silently picked her up. She rested her head on his shoulder, and promptly fell asleep, even with all the sugar she had just consumed.

He changed for bed, after washing her up the best he could, and putting her to bed. He crawled into bed beside Buffy.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Good. Tiring, but good. It was fun."

She slid over next to him, "So, what color are your toes?" He sighed. "That bad?"

He nodded, "Pink." she cringed for his benefit.

"Poor Daddy. Tomorrow I'll help you take it off, ok?" He nodded. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too." he placed a hand on her enlarged stomach, somewhere within his child was growing, and had been for eight months. "Did you have a nice relaxing day?"

"Mm-hm." she nodded, "Did some laundry and-"

"What did the doctor tell you? You're supposed to stay off your feet. Avoid stress."

"With a six year old in the house, not cleaning would stress me out, more than cleaning. Don't worry, I'll take good care of your child."

"It's not her that I'm worried about, it's you."

"Her? Do you know something I don't?"

"Not really, just wishful thinking."

"I'm almost hoping it's not a girl. Just think about what Dawn and me were like. These two will be just like us."

He sighed, "Maybe it should be a boy." he teased. She bumped him with her elbow. "Good night, my love." he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Good night." she dug her head softly into his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her. Life was perfect. He had his one true love by his side, an adopted daughter, and one child on the way. More important than any of that, Buffy loved him.


	2. Rain

Title: Rain  
  
Author: blackbeltchic  
  
Posted: May 27, 2004  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that belong to Joss Whedon, or Mutant Enemy. The original idea was from a GidgetGirl challenge, and this is a continuation of that story, Stolen Innocence. There is no need to read that story to understand this one, though it would be great if you did.  
  
Author's notes: This was originally a nameless story, and by that I mean the characters had no names, that I wrote for a journal entry. Then, while doing dishes, my diabolical mind twisted and turned to story, and this was born.  
  
And if you care, it's raining right now!(Well, when it was written)  
  
START OF STORY  
  
Her eyes opened wide, shedding their sleepy blanket.  
  
"Wain."  
  
She pulled herself upright and looked out the window across from her crib.  
  
"Wain."  
  
She deftly climbed up and over the crib, a feat she had perfected only twice before. She fell towards the big stuffed animal left in the perfect position near her crib. She crawled off Mr. Snuggles and pushed herself upright.  
  
"Wain."  
  
She stumbled across the hall, pushing against the closed door of her parent's room.  
  
"Wain!"  
  
Her older sister came up behind her, "Shh," she put a finger to her lip, "Mommy and Daddy are sleeping."  
  
"Wain."  
  
"Shh." Her older sister hushed her. She put her own finger to her lips and tried.  
  
"Pfft," she giggled, "Wain."  
  
"Come on." She picked up the youngest Summers and carried her back towards the room they shared.  
  
"Wain!" she started to cry.  
  
"We've got to get your diaper changed first." She placed her on the floor, and she watched as the grabbed the wipes and a new diaper.  
  
"Wain," she whispered, as her sister tried to change her diaper. A few minutes later, the diaper was on, and Ashleigh picked up her sister, carrying her clumsily down the stairs. She set her at the foot of the stairs, and she raced off for the door. "Wain!" she pounded her fists against the door.  
  
"First you need your coat. And your boots, and your hat." She fought the one and a half year old, putting on the rain gear. Then she put on her own, and stretched up to unlock the door, before taking her sister out into the warm morning.  
  
"WAIN!" the child squealed as she tottered over to a puddle and jumped in it. Ashleigh rushed over and jumped in the puddle too. Alex laughed and fell down in the puddle.  
  
POV BREAK  
  
She woke up and looked around. She had heard something. She quietly got out of the bed, careful not to wake her husband beside her, and pulled on her bathrobe. Then she slipped downstairs, only to find the door ajar.  
  
"Wain!" she heard as she peeked outside. Alex and Ashleigh were splashing in a puddle.  
  
"No, that's a puddle. Can you say that? Pu-ddle."  
  
"Puckle."  
  
"Close," Ashleigh looked up to see her standing there, "Mommy! Come play in the puddle with us!"  
  
She smiled as she walked out in her bare feet to stand in the puddle.  
  
"Wain. Puckle." Alex smiled, splashing her little fists in the water. 


	3. Slow Down

Title: Slow Down

Author: this is purely Karen, she gets full credit.

Posted: November 5, 2004

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, not the excerpts from the books, Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear, and The Dog That Went Too Fast.

Maddus, Bob; Ron Krueger, Betsy Hernandez, Tony Salerno; The Dog That Went Too Fast. Anthony Paul, Inc, Pleasanton CA. 1986

Carlstrom, Nancy White. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Macmillian Publishing Company, New York. 1986.

Would Buffy have these two books to read to her daughters? Probably not, and if she did, they wouldn't be in very good condition. But does that matter? Not to me. These are my favorite children's books, and I used them for a French Project using the Imparfait.

And I promise that someday I will organize these into an order, but today is not that day, and tomorrow's not looking good either, sorry!

From now on, if you would like to see something come from these, let me know! Xander babysitting? I can try...Just give me something to work with, not "please continue."

She watched as she paced. When she was closest, she pounced.

"Wead. Momma, wead!" she tugged on her arm.

"Where is he?" she muttered. Her baby girl pulled on her arm, "I'm sorry, baby, Mommy's busy."

"I'll read to you," she took her sister's hand and led her into the bedroom.

Buffy smiled, distracted, before looking at her watch and pacing again.

In her moody packing, she passed the open bedroom door.

"_Jesse Bear, what will you wear?_

_What will you wear in the morning?_

_My shirt of red_

_Pulled over my head_

_Over my head in the morning."_

She had forgotten an extra stake, her lucky, trusty stake. Where was it? She found it a few minutes later, under the bed, and passed the door again to put it in her heavy duffel bag.

"Jesse bear, what will you wear 

_What will you wear at noon?_

_I'll wear my chair._

_You'll wear your chair?_

_I'll wear my chair _

'_Cause I'm stuck in there_

_Stuck in my chair at noon."_

She stuffed Mr. Pointy into her bag, before looking out the window, glancing at her watch, and pacing in the same lopsided rectangle again.

Oh, God, her axe! What if they ran into something nasty?

She'd never get out if he didn't get home soon!

She passed their door again, and noticed they had changed books. This one was about...a dog, she thought. She really didn't have time to worry about it.

"Hey! Slow down! Slow down! You're not going to get these feathers into the cart that way!"

But Snips was in such a scurry and flurry... 

Now where'd she put that axe? She hadn't seen it in the chest. Maybe the one under the bed? Nope. Where was that damned axe?

She finally found it at the back of the closet. Kinda negligent, but she didn't have time to clean up, so she dumped the broadsword she found with it into the largest chest.

"It just takes time to smell a flower 

_Or watch a butterfly fly_

_There are still sixty minutes in every hour_

_Don't try to make the time rush by_

_You're moving too fast, slow down_

_You've got to keep your feet on the ground."_

Ashleigh's sweet voice cut through the fogs she seemed to survive in these days, and she stopped to listen to her youngest sister turned daughter read.

"..._you can't rush a sunset_

_Or make a bird hurry his song_

_Don't wait 'til everything's perfect_

_Live your life all day long"_

She looked at the killing device in her hands, and thought of the girls waiting for her to teach them to kill. Then she looked at her daughters, and realized she wasn't even sure she knew Ashleigh could read. She spent day after frustrating day with them, only apart between 8:30 and 3, how could she have missed something so big?

She set the axe down outside the room, before silently entering as Ashleigh finished the song. Alex hugged Bear closer to her as Buffy sat down next to her. Ashleigh went to hand over the book, but she stopped her.

"You finish it. You're doing great."

She listened to her girl read, and a smile came to her face. She joined in a few pages later when it came time for the next song, and she helped her through a few stumbles, buth other than that, she was silent.

"Sorry I'm late Buffy, I know you have palces to be..."

"Shh!" she hushed him.

"The princess got the most wonderful pillow ever made. And Snips, well, he became the most trusted fetcher of things in all the Land of Pleasant.

"The End," Ashleigh closed the book, a huge smile on her face.

"Wead," Alex said weakly from where she was asleep, her head in Buffy's lap.


End file.
